Whatever Will Be Will Be
by Sad-Blue-Eyed-Angel 2010
Summary: WARNING: NON-CANON - NO FLAMES Alan feels like the world is against him, and according to Murphy's Law it is. Bad summary I know, very cheesy (sappy) story, non-canon - hope you enjoy. Rated M for course language - Anyverse
1. Murphy's Law

The pain sliced through his skull and made him squeeze his eyes shut to ward off the throbbing. It hadn't been worth it. He'd stayed up late every night for this past week and a half and he'd still failed miserably. How did this happen? Why was it always him? Couldn't he ever do anything right?

_'Walking into the lounge, Alan smiled at his beloved. She turned to look at him with a smile full of brilliantly white teeth, plump pink lips that looked oh-so kissable right now. She was wearing one of his long sleeved dress shirts. The hem dangled tantalizingly low upon her thigh. Walking up to her, he leaned in for a kiss._

_ Despite all the studying he'd been doing these past few nights, he could still afford a little fun. Grabbing her hand in his, Alan pulled her up from the couch and sat in her place before pulling her into his lap. She turned so she was straddling his lap, and he reached up with a gentle hand to run his fingers through her silky soft hair. She giggled as she clasped her hands on either side of his face and leaned down for a kiss._

_ Moving his hands to rest comfortably on her shapely hips, Alan smiled into the kiss. He was ecstatic. How could he not be? Weeks of planning and the night before had been perfect. He'd popped the question and she'd cried yes in more ways than one. They'd celebrated in the step they'd agreed to take together as one._

_ Alan took his leave, after a little pleasure from his one and only of course. Alan had left to complete his finals for college. At twenty years old, he had the world at his fingertips and nothing was going to stop him, unless of course you were Murphy's Law. It'd been such a good day, why did it have to go to total Hell?'_

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_ 'Alan dragged himself up the steps of the college hall where his finals were already in progress. He'd growled to himself as he cursed the ways of the world. He'd taken the subway to get to the college from his apartment, and as if the entire world was against him…the subway inexplicably encountered mechanical failure. _

_ Approaching the door to the test hall, Alan caught the professor that was proctoring the exam's attention. The middle aged man stepped into the hall to talk to Alan and it was there that the first bombshell was dropped on him._

_ "I'm sorry Mr. Tracy…you are more than twenty minutes late. I regret to inform you that I will have no choice but to give you an incomplete. I might have allowed you into the test hall if you were five or ten minutes late, but not forty-five." The professor listened to Alan's appeal, but regretfully shook his head. "I've already had to turn three students that were like you and more than twenty minutes late away also. It wouldn't be fair if I gave you entrance, but not them."_

_ "But isn't there a makeup day? I swear, the reason I am late was beyond my control. I would have run if given the chance, but you know as well as I do that once the subway doors close, they can't be opened until you get into the terminal." Alan pleaded with his professor. "Please there must be something you can do!"_

_ "I'm sorry Mr. Tracy. Even with you having maintained an A in this class, those of you that don't complete the final exam will not pass. The exam counts for ninety percent of your final grade and you have to garner a C- or better on the exam to at least pass. You will receive an F, regardless of being one of the top ten students in my class." The professor settled a sympathetic look on one of his best students. "My hands are tied Alan. The administration set those restrictions to weed out those that were serious about the class. I know you are possibly more serious about the class than most, but there is absolutely nothing I can do."_

_ Alan's mouth hung open in disbelief. All that studying, all those stressful late nights…gone. Alan's face had gone pale. He needed this class in particular to graduate this spring, and now he wouldn't make it. His brothers would find out and tease him, his dad would show how utterly disappointed he'd been because Alan had failed. Heaving a sigh, Alan turned to take the walk of shame._

_ He'd failed. Despite him giving it his all and really working his ass off, he'd botched this last term. This was his only class that he'd taken this term, anything else he'd decided to take would have been electives and hadn't been anything he'd been interested in. How was he going to tell his dad? _

_ Alan walked back towards his apartment. The subway was down for maintenance and that left Alan with two options. A taxi or using his Chervolegs. Patting his pocket, Alan realized he didn't have any money to pay for a taxi, so he settled on walking the thirty minutes to get to his apartment._

_ Half an hour later found Alan in the elevator heading up towards his apartment. As he approached the door, he heard his fiancé talking to someone. Finding it odd, he slid the key into the lock and opened the door. Stepping through the door, Alan felt his heart clench. There sitting on the couch was his fiancé, but right beside her was her father. The man had never approved of Alan, always preferring to call him a useless playboy that just wanted to screw around with his little angel._

_ Pamela was sitting on the couch, and she was crying. Beside her was a suitcase. Alan felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He looked between his fiancé and her father, before he spoke up._

_ "What's going on here?" Alan felt his breath catch in his throat as Pamela lifted her own brilliant blue eyes to meet his own. Her eyes were tinged with red and she'd given a sob before she jumped up from the couch and raced into Alan's arms. Alan clung to her svelte form and kissed her softly on the forehead. "Baby what's the matter?"_

_ Pamela sniffled and sobbed, before she lifted her blue eyes to look into his again, just seeing her so upset and crying made Alan furious. Why was this happening to him? Leaning down to capture Pamela's lips with his he felt like he'd been slapped when she'd rebuffed his advances. She had moved away from Alan, before doing the one thing Alan wished she'd never do._

_ "I'm sorry…I can't marry you." Pamela gave a sob, as she looked tearfully at her father who nodded at her to continue. "Please forgive me Alan."_

_ "Why can't you marry me? I thought we were going to start our new life together in just a few short months. I can't live without you Pamela!" Alan took a step forward while Pamela took two steps back. _

_ Alan was hurt. There was no doubt about that. Alan felt tears welling in his eyes as he watched Pamela remove the engagement ring he'd given to her just the night before and hand it back to him. All that planning, everything he'd done…he'd done for her. Now she never wanted to marry him? But why? Did it have something to do with him failing this class?_

_ "Pamela, please tell me you're joking." Alan took another step forward, only this time Pamela took three steps back. She was choking on her tears while her father looked impassive. "You! You did this!" Alan lashed out at Pamela's father, the one man that had never approved of their relationship. "I love your daughter more than life itself! Isn't that good enough for you?"_

_ "I know my Pam can do much better than you, you worthless playboy. Pamela has had her fun, but now it's time for her to focus on her studies and move on. I will not stand for this relationship any longer!" Pamela's father stood up and moved towards Alan. The man towered over Alan's 5'9"frame yet even with the advantage of height…Alan was the one who seemed more intimidating._

_ "How so? I love your daughter as I have since I first laid eyes on her. I want to marry her, make her my wife and start a family with her? Isn't her happiness more important to you?" Alan looked rich, despite his honest to God attempts to look like an average college student, wearing older, out of style clothing, yet still maintaining his wealthy lifestyle._

_ Pamela's father despised Alan from the moment he'd met the boy who'd captured his daughter's heart. A widower like Alan's father, the man had never truly approved of any guy that sought out either of his daughters. Yet it was Alan he despised the most simply because he wasn't fazed by all the attempts to break them apart._

_ "I won't let her marry a rich little snob like you. She'd be miserable living in your hoighty toighty lifestyle." Pamela's father glared down on Alan._

_ "Why don't you let her decide that for herself? Try letting her grow up for a change! She is an amazing woman, and I love her with all my heart! Can't you see what you are doing to her by breaking us apart?" Alan pointed at Pamela, who stood across the room. She was crying inconsolably into her hands. "Give us a chance to prove to you that we are right for each other!"_

_ "Absolutely not!" Pamela's father pushed Alan hard, making the young man stumble back into the glass case that contained the flat screen TV._

_ Alan laid in amidst the shattered glass, listening to the struggle that Pamela put up as she wanted to go help Alan while her father held her back. When the door slammed shut, immediately silencing Pamela's cries of protest was when Alan sat up. Gulping in several deep breaths, Alan opened his right fist to see the engagement ring he'd gotten for Pamela. Realizing that he might still be able to stop them, despite the pain he felt Alan got to his feet and raced out after Pamela and her father._

_ "Wait! Pamela! Pamela, don't go! I love you!" Alan dropped to his knees as the car that Pamela sat in, driven by her father merged with the traffic. Feeling like everything was going wrong for him; Alan picked himself up from the sidewalk and walked back into the apartment._

_ Opening the door, he was met with a ringing from the vid-phone. Not wishing to answer it, Alan ignored it. Alan retrieved the broom and dustpan and swept up the shattered glass, before depositing it all into the trash. After cleaning up the mess, Alan sank down onto his couch, the same couch that Pamela and him had made love on just that morning and cried. _

_ Opening his eyes, Alan gazed at the ring in his hand. He'd picked out that particular ring with Pamela in mind. She loved rubies, so he'd picked out a diamond ring…lining the band of the ring in rubies. Gazing into the inside lip of the band, he's glimpsed the words he'd had inscribed inside._

_ 'Alan Shepard Tracy and Pamela Desiree Sullivan forever and always.'_

_ The vid-phone began to ring again and Alan just threw the diary that Pamela had left on the coffee table at it. It had been a mistake, because the book made a sound that apparently seemed to agree to answer the call and Alan was greeted with his father's frustrated face._

_ "Alan, do you wish to explain to me exactly why I received a call from the dean today telling me that you failed your class?" Jeff hadn't even blinked at Alan's tear stained face. Alan sniffed before he answered his father, dread growing in the pit of his stomach._

_ "No sir." Alan looked down at the floor in abject shame._

_ "I am very disappointed in you Alan. If you can't be more responsible than this, I'm afraid I am going to have no choice but to keep you out of the flow of rescues." It was just what Alan expected would happen._

_ "Yes sir." Alan didn't even try to fight with his father. His day was gradually getting worse…it couldn't possibly get any shoddier could it?_

_ "Hey is that the Sprout?" The voice sprang up before Alan could even blink. Suddenly he was looking at his third eldest brother Virgil. The smile that came up on Virgil's face looked impish at best, but Alan knew what was coming. There'd be no avoiding it. "Are you crying? Oh man, I never thought I'd see the day where Alan Tracy cries like a little girl! Gordon, come see this!"_

_ Alan tried drying his eyes, but he'd been too slow. Now not only was he looking at his father's disappointed face, but he was also gazing into the faces of his two elder brothers Virgil and Gordon. Both the medic and aquanaut smirked at seeing Alan's tears and they both teased him mercilessly. Finally Alan had had enough._

_ "Yeah, well if your day had been fantastic but gradually got worse…ending with your fiancé returning the engagement ring…I think you'd cry too!" Alan scrubbed at his eyes. The tears just wouldn't stop._

_ "Well yeah. But then I don't blame her for calling off the engagement. Why would she want to marry you when she could find a smarter man? You're a failure Alan." Gordon smiled cruelly at seeing more tears well up into his little brother's eyes._

_ "I hate you. I fucking hate you!" Tears streamed down Alan's face as he disconnected the call.'_

That had been almost a week ago now. He had hardly eaten or slept. He'd tried calling Pamela, until her phone showed it as disconnected. Each text he'd sent her came back that the number he'd texted to was no longer in service. His vid-phone had been ringing off the hook, constantly the ID registering the call as either Scott or John trying to get through.

Alan didn't care anymore. He was tired, and he just wanted it all to end. He was tired of being a mistake in his family, a failure at being Jefferson Tracy's son and a failure at life in general. Not bothering to answer the ringing cell phone or vid-phone, Alan made his way out of the apartment. His cell phone remained on the coffee table, the ring he'd given Pamela sitting on top of a piece of paper tucked beneath it.

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Scott hit redial and tried for what seemed to be the fourteenth thousandth time in just that day to raise Alan. It had been almost a week since anyone in his family had heard from him and he was worried. The last he'd heard from Alan were the words 'I fucking hate you' being directed to Gordon and Virgil when he'd entered the lounge to talk to his dad before the line went dead. Scott had given each of his two wayward younger brothers a major dressing down for laughing at Alan's pain when they'd explained that Alan was crying and why.

It wasn't until Scott himself had received a call from Alan's longtime girlfriend and now ex-fiancé Pamela in tears because she couldn't get ahold of Alan on his cell phone. That bothered Scott to no end. Alan always carried his cell phone with him, why wasn't he answering? "It'll be okay dear. Tell you what, pack your bags…I'll fly out and pick you up and together…you and I will go see Alan."

"Okay." Scott nodded silently to himself as he heard Pamela's broken voice. She sounded small, like a child. Sucking in a deep breath, Scott tried one last time to raise Alan. The vid-phone rang until finally the call disconnected itself. Scott hoped that Alan was maybe out and not just ignoring the vid.

Dropping his head into his hands, Scott forcefully exhaled. Why did everything have to go so wrong? From the way his dad told it…according to the dean, Alan had skipped out on his final exam and therefore received a failing grade on said exam, however Scott and Jeff both had their doubts. They both knew how much blood, sweat and tears Alan had been putting into his homework and Jeff had placed a call to the professor that proctored the exam.

As it turns out that due to a newly established rule, if a student is more than twenty minutes late to a final exam…they automatically receive a failing grade on said exam. The professor however told Jeff and Scott both that Alan had in fact showed up, albeit forty-five minutes late due to extenuating circumstances that were out of Alan's control. The professor had already talked to the council to see about establishing a redo day for those students that had been unable to make the test day for whatever reason and the council had agreed.

"Scott?" A quiet voice spoke from the doorway of the lounge where Scott sat. Lifting his gaze, Scott gazed into the worried auburn and honey burnt eyes of none other than his younger brothers Gordon and Virgil.

"What do you want?" Scott was not very happy with his two brothers for having hurt Alan as much as they had. When it came to the relationship between the two brothers that were currently looking at the eldest, well let's just say it was like walking on eggshells.

"Was that Alan you were on the phone with?" Virgil stepped forward, his voice quiet and quite obviously guilt ridden.

"No." Scott counted to ten as he answered Virgil's inquiry. He knew that Virgil and Gordon were only teasing Alan, but personally he felt they took the teasing a little too far this time. "It was Pamela."

"Why would she call?" Gordon screwed up his face with disdain as he heard who had been on the phone with Scott.

"She was calling to find out if I'd heard from Alan. Apparently we are not the only ones he's ignoring and she's worried." Scott stood up, his resolve strengthened as he marched around his father's desk in the lounge. "I'm going to take Tracy 1 and fly out to pick up Pamela and then the two of us are going to stop by the apartment to see if Alan is there and just ignoring us or not."

"Do you want us to come with you?" Virgil reached out and clasped onto Scott's arm.

"No, I think you two have done enough. Let me try to talk to him and see if he'll forgive you all." Scott shook off Virgil's grip and continued down towards the hangar.

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Alan walked with his head down, not caring that rain was pouring off his head from the deluge of water falling from the sky above. Hands shoved into his pockets, Alan shivered. It was getting a little cold and he'd been out for a walk to try to clear his head when the downpour occurred. Goosebumps rose up on Alan's arms and he'd figured hailing a cab would be better than coming down with pneumonia.

Stepping close to the curb, Alan raised his hand to hail a cab and in the blink of an eye he was pinned to the brick wall behind him. His head hurt, and he felt something running down his face. The liquid was unfamiliar to Alan. Coughing slightly, Alan was horrified when he felt compelled to spit out blood. Looking down at the hood of the vehicle, he'd found that the lower half of his body was pinned between the rough brick wall and the grill of the vehicle.

Lifting his head, Alan saw a Good Samaritan doing CPR on a guy that appeared to be the cab driver. Alan felt his head drooping as the pain in his head increased. The pain sliced through his skull and made him squeeze his eyes shut to ward off the throbbing. It hadn't been worth it. He'd stayed up late every night for this past week and he'd still failed miserably. How did this happen? Why was it always him? Couldn't he ever do anything right?

"Sir, hold on! Paramedics are on the way! Stay with me son!" Alan opened his eyes and wondered why his vision was growing fuzzy. The man that was in front of him grasped one of Alan's quivering hands and began reciting a prayer that was unknown to Alan. Sure he believed there was a God, but he didn't have any set religion he followed.

Alan felt his eyes begin to droop and he willingly surrendered to the darkness. Anything to let go of the pain he felt. At this point, he'd welcome death. His girlfriend and fiancé left him, he'd failed his final the other day and wouldn't graduate on time and his family would never forgive his screwed up life.

"Son? Son! Stay awake! Look at me!" The man that spoke to Alan sounded surprisingly like Virgil to Alan's ears. The only thing that hadn't seemed right was that his brother wouldn't refer to him as son. He'd call him Sprout or squirt. No this wasn't Virgil.

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Greg Sanders tried to awaken the young man that was currently pinned between the large brick building and the cab. Removing his jacket, Greg draped it over the dripping wet form of Alan and focused on trying to rouse the young man that was currently lying against the hood of the cab. He could hear the ambulance, fire trucks and police sirens and only prayed they'd arrive in time.

"I need help! Please is there anyone that knows how to check for a pulse?" Greg was knelt on the ground near the hood of the vehicle trying to assess how bad Alan was pinned.

"I do!" A woman in the crowd stepped forward and approached Greg and Alan. She too removed her jacket and draped it over Alan's still form before she placed her fingers against Alan's neck. She remained silent for a few moments, before her face dropped. "Oh dear God…I hope they hurry. His pulse is slowing down."

"I think I know why too." Greg motioned toward the woman and pointed just beyond Alan's leg. A piece of the cabs grill had snapped under the force of the impact and was currently impaled into Alan's thigh

"That's not good; I think his femoral artery has been severed!" The woman checked the pulse point in Alan's neck again, frowning as she did so. "We're going to lose him!"

Greg wondered if the young man in front of him would die before his very eyes. He was so pale, so still. Making a decision, Greg turned to the woman who'd been helping him to care for Alan. Thankfully he'd been a medic in the military so he knew about field medicine. Making a split second judgment Greg reacted.

"I need a belt! Any belt will do!" Greg looked out to the crowd of gathered men and women who were standing stock still, begging someone to give him and the woman some help. "Hurry!"

Greg's prompting seemed to stir the gathered crowd and one young man removed his belt from his slacks and handed it to Greg, before offering his assistance to the two people that were working to save Alan's life.

"What can I do to help?" The young man looked between Greg and the woman a pleading look in his eyes. He wanted to help!

"Keep trying to rouse him. I need to create a tourniquet to try and stop his bleeding." Greg ordered the young man to help him in the only way he knew how, before setting to work.

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Scott and Pamela sat in a traffic jam less than a mile away from the scene of the accident. The both of them were worried. Pamela had continued to try and call Alan's cell phone and she still wasn't receiving an answer. Scott heaved a sigh as he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. This just wasn't like Alan. Normally he'd pick up the phone and give you a few choice words if he was mad, but never had he just outright ignored them.

"What's going on up there?" Pamela was resting her head on the side of the car window gazing outside in hopes of calming her nerves.

"What do you mean?" Scott looked to her to see her pointing a finger out the windshield.

"Looks like some sort of accident. I can see flashing lights up ahead." Pamela moved her head, before resting back against the headrest. "I wish they'd hurry up, I want to go see Alan."

Scott glanced sideways at Pamela before wondering if he should ask her what happened between her and his baby brother. She seemed like a nice girl, and currently not like any scornful ex would act. "If you don't mind my asking, what exactly happened between you and my brother?"

Pamela sucked in a breath, before she sighed heavily. Scott watched her clench her eyes shut, before she began to explain. "Alan proposed to me and I accepted."

"That's great…but?" Scott didn't understand. He hoped Pamela could clear it up for him.

"I accepted Alan's proposal and the next day like a total idiot I told my younger sister and she'd blabbed to my dad that I was engaged. He was angry. He's never liked Alan, regardless of how happy Alan made me." Pamela stopped to brush away a couple tears. "My father showed up at Alan's apartment where I've been staying. He was furious and ordered me to break off the engagement with Alan and come home with him. I refused to do so, and he said he'd break us apart at any cost."

Scott's eyebrow furrowed as he listened to Pamela's explanation.

"Anyway, needless to say to please my father…I broke off the engagement with Alan. But then, my father shoved Alan into that TV case that Alan bought. Then my father dragged me and my luggage from the area and drove off without letting me check on Alan." Pamela struggled to not cry as she continued. "He could have killed Alan. When he got me back home, he disconnected my cell service, but my sister helped me get my name off his account and reestablish my number."

A knock on the window broke Scott from his thoughts and he rolled down the window a little bit to talk to the police officer directing traffic. "Yes sir?"

"We're just going around letting everyone know that the wait will only be about ten more minutes." Scott looked up at the police officer with a look of calm.

"What happened?" Pamela inquired from the passenger seat.

"It was a one vehicle car accident. Cab drove up onto the sidewalk and struck a pedestrian." The police officer began to walk off, in order to go inform other drivers.

"Is the pedestrian okay?" Scott called from the window as the officer walked away.

"It doesn't look good." The officer left those words hanging in the air before going to go talk to another vehicle stuck in the major gridlock.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

The paramedics were forced to intubate Alan before they could remove the vehicle from around Alan. He'd quit breathing at one point and because of the position he was in, it'd been impossible to do chest compressions. They were forced to intubate so they could use an ambu bag to provide oxygen to Alan and keep him alive. The tourniquet fashioned by Greg had done good to stem the bleeding in Alan's thigh. But now the paramedics had a bigger problem. How were they going to remove the vehicle, without causing further harm to the pinned victim?

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Finally the traffic began to move. It started at a slow crawl and it gradually got faster. Scott picked up the pace until they were driving in the direction of Alan's apartment. Coming to a stop at a red light, Scott and Pamela spied several paramedics loading up a stretcher in the back of a waiting ambulance. One paramedic was riding on the stretcher with the victim, holding what Scott recognized to be an ambu bag.

"I hope that guy is okay." Scott heard Pamela mutter from the passenger seat, before Scott began moving again. As they drove past the scene of the accident, they both felt shell shocked as they saw the vast amounts of blood on the sidewalk, the partially smashed vehicle and broken glass.

"You and me both Pamela." Scott continued driving, trying not to think about the victim. Scott hoped the victim would be okay.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Pamela inserted her key into the lock of the apartment she'd begun sharing with Alan. Allowing the door to swing open, Pamela and Scott both felt discouraged at seeing the apartment very well untouched. Pamela walked in and started looking around for any sign that Alan had been there recently. Scott watched as Pamela grabbed something on the table, before sliding it on her ring finger.

"What is that?" Scott walked forward and inspected the dainty hand when it was thrust out for him to look at.

"The engagement ring Alan got for me." Pamela gazed lovingly at the jewelry before her smile fell. "Oh, where is Alan? He never leaves his cell phone when he goes out."

"What is this?" Scott picked up the paper that had been tucked under Alan's cell phone and opened it hoping it wasn't anything to worry about.

"It's a letter, from Alan's professor?" Pamela and Scott read through the letter and Scott smiled as he read it. The letter was quite detailed and informed the reader of the locations where make up tests could be done and one of the days had been crossed off. Today was one of those test makeup days.

"Perhaps he's just running late. If he took the makeup test like I think, he may have stayed to wait for it to be corrected so he'd know whether it'd been done correctly." Scott laid the paper back onto the table. Scott was going to say something more, but his cell phone ringing cut him off. Answering it quickly Scott spoke up. "Hello?

Pamela watched as Scott gripped tightly onto the chair he'd been holding onto before he released an explosive breath. Scott seemingly talked in a professional manner and Pamela briefly wondered if it was one of Scott's associates that worked with him at his father's business. When Scott snapped his phone shut, everything seemed to change.

"Let's go!" Scott grabbed onto Pamela's arm and practically dragged her from the apartment.

"Where are we going Scott?" Pamela ran to keep up with Scott as he led her down to the car garage.

"That was the hospital…apparently Alan has been hurt and is in surgery. They called the first number that came up in his medical records." Scott sped up his pace to where both he and Pamela were sprinting to reach the car garage. '_Please dear God don't let Alan be hurt too badly!'_

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Scott and Pamela stood in the hallway just outside the emergency department of the hospital. Alan had already been in surgery for several hours. Scott called and informed his father and brothers of Alan's injuries and subsequent surgery, but he'd come up short when it came to explaining what exactly happened to Alan. Jeff had ordered Virgil and Gordon to go get John from Thunderbird Five and when he'd arrived they would bring Tracy Two and fly out to the hospital where Alan had been admitted.

"What's taking so long?" Scott leaned back against the wall, desperately trying to retain his calm.

"I don't know." Pamela was sitting on the floor, knees pulled up to her chest. Her blue eyes were red and puffy from hours of uncontrollable crying.

Suddenly the doors to the surgical department opened down the hall and a doctor dressed in scrubs came walking out. He was wearing a surgical scrub hat and a mask was still tied around his neck. The older man walked towards Scott and Pamela. Scott reached out a hand and pulled Pamela up from the floor and they held each other's hand as the man came to a stop in front of them.

"Are you family of Alan Tracy?"

"Yes, I'm his brother and this is his fiancé." Scott pointed between himself and Pamela, before turning ice blue eyes toward the doctor. "Please how is my brother?"

The doctor heaved a sigh before he started explaining to Scott and Pamela just what happened. Pamela covered her mouth, and dropped to the floor as her legs stubbornly refused to hold her up. Scott lowered his head and grit his teeth before punching the wall. When the doctor finished his explanation he turned and walked away, leaving Scott and Pamela both shocked and speechless.


	2. Que Sera Sera

Walking into the room, Scott and Pamela had to hold their breath. There lying unconscious on the bed was Alan. He was hooked up to a respirator, IV's coiling around him like a snake, one of the IV's in particular contained a copper color as blood was being pumped into him. Both Scott and Pamela separated and walked to either side of the bed to hold one of Alan's hands.

"Oh Alan…please you have to get better." Pamela leaned down and kissed Alan's cool pale cheek. "I love you."

"Don't give up just yet little brother, we need you." Scott allowed the soft timbre of his voice to wash over his baby brother.

Scott glanced at Alan, his gaze being directed lower and lower until his eyes met the life saving measure that would undoubtedly change Alan's life as well as theirs. The surgeon had been unable to save one of Alan's legs. He'd been forced to amputate due to the damage that had been inflicted to the limb. The bone had been crushed, thereby making it a dangerous jigsaw puzzle to complete. The muscle apparently looked like it'd gone through a meat grinder.

The doctor said he'd tried everything to save Alan's leg, but he would have had to carry a bum leg around if he'd kept it. Despite the loss of limb, Scott was grateful for all the effort the doctor had given. Currently though, Alan was unconscious due to the anesthesia that they'd used to keep him under during surgery. Scott hadn't yet called his father and brothers to tell them of the results of Alan's surgery, as they were currently en route by way of Tracy Two and should be arriving in a little less than an hour.

Pulling up a chair, Scott decided he'd act as a sentry for Alan. His little brother just had to wake up soon. Gazing into his little brother's face, Scott was reminded of the day Alan had been born. Their mother had died giving birth to the boy and while Jeff was inconsolable over the loss of his wife, it had been Scott who'd practically been Alan's father. He'd been the one who fed, changed and cuddled with the newborn. He'd held his hands when it came to teaching him to walk, he'd put up with the screaming fits during teething, every fever, every cold Scott had been there for.

Several hours passed and still Alan didn't stir. Pamela and Scott both fell asleep holding his hand, praying he'd come to soon. Jeff and his other sons arrived mid-morning the following day and they got the shock of their lives when they saw Alan. He was still asleep, but neuro-checks conducted by doctors assured the family that Alan was just resting. He had been through a fairly traumatic ordeal.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

"I can't believe he lost his leg." Gordon sank into a chair between his dad and Virgil outside of Alan's hospital room and dropped his head into his hands. "How could everything go so fucking wrong?"

"Please watch your language Gordon." Jeff sat beside Gordon in the hall.

"I'm sorry." Gordon gazed sadly at the ground in front of him. "I just don't understand how everything could go so wrong."

"We don't understand it either Gordon." Jeff gazed towards Alan's hospital room where he could hear voices emanating from. Scott and John were in there with Pamela and the three of them were refusing to leave Alan's bedside.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Alan sat propped up against the pillows and gazed unseeingly ahead of him. Pamela was stroking his hand and trying to talk to him. Scott and John were sitting a fair distance away to give the couple privacy. Alan couldn't find it in him to speak. In just a couple minutes, his life had been turned upside down and turned around. Here he was sitting in a hospital, quite appropriately jacked up on pain medicine.

"Alan, please look at me." Alan refused to meet Pamela's eyes. He didn't want to see the pity. "Alan, don't shut me out. Please I want to help you."

Alan looked down at the hand on his arm to see the engagement ring back in its rightful place on her dainty little ring finger. Biting his lip, Alan struggled to not cry. Everything just seemed so wrong. He'd failed the test earlier that week, the same day his fiancé returned the engagement ring, he'd seen his father's disappointment and had heard the teasing words of his brothers.

"Alan, I'm so sorry." Pamela perched on the bed and gently grabbed Alan's chin. Lifting his gaze to meet hers, she saw the pain in his eyes. Alan remained silent, but a couple tears slipped free and Pamela brushed them away. "Please, don't cry. It'll be okay."

Scott and John heard Pamela's plea and purposefully decided to leave the room. Alan needed to let it all out, but he wouldn't do it if any of his family was in the room. Quietly, both brothers left the room; leaving Alan and Pamela alone together. Pulling the door to, they were met with the expectant gazes of their dad and younger brothers.

"How is he?" Jeff looked up at Scott and John questioningly.

"He's upset at the moment, but I think he'll be fine." Scott spoke before walking down the hall. He was still mad at his two younger brothers.

"We really screwed up didn't we Virge?" Gordon looked up at his brother and saw the look of pain before he saw the nod.

"Yeah, I think we did." Virgil spoke quietly. He was hoping that Alan would forgive him and Gordon for their hurtful words. It hadn't been meant in a scornful way, it had been all in jest.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Tears coursed down Alan's face as he bit his lip, attempting to stifle the choked sobs trying to break through. Pamela was hugging him tightly, she was crying too…but then she was also relaying to him how much she believed he could get better. It meant a lot to Alan, but right now…he couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Wrapping his arms around Pamela's waist, Alan gave a small sob. Pamela reached up and pressed Alan's face into her shoulder, in order to muffle Alan's sobs so that nobody outside the room could hear him. She was well aware of Alan's need to put on a strong front, but then she also knew Alan. She knew his heart, and what she was seeing right now was only a glimpse of her Alan, the man she'd fallen in love with.

"Ssh, it's okay Alan." Pamela soothed her love, allowed him to cling tight to her. She wasn't going to let go.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry." Alan whimpered, sounding like a small boy.

"Why are you sorry babe?" Pamela pulled Alan's face away out of the shelter of her shoulder and gazed into his eyes.

"I ignored your call. I failed my test the other day." Alan redirected his gaze down at his blanketed lap.

"Then why was that paper on the dining room table containing yesterday's date crossed off? The redo day?" Pamela brushed a couple of Alan's tears off his cheeks.

"I went to go redo the test…I wanted more than anything to pass and graduate so that I could make something of myself…make my family proud of me for a change." Alan withered slightly. "I'm just a mistake. I killed my mother by being born, I ruined my family's lives and there is absolutely nothing I can do to make you happy."

"That's where you're wrong Alan. Just seeing you makes me happy. Sharing those nights together and being able to snuggle with you in those freezing cold mornings, holding you in my arms, kissing you, breathing the air you breath…that is what makes me happy Alan." Tears filled Pamela's eyes as she reminded Alan just why she loved him. "I made a mistake by breaking off the engagement with you. By trying to please my father, I almost lost you. I don't care what he thinks anymore, you are the one for me."

Alan simply blinked at Pamela. Was she saying what he thought she was saying?

"Alan, if you'll still have me…I want to be your bride. I want to be there to warm you on those cold mornings, I want to hold you in my arms every night before we go to sleep, I want to have your babies and I want to grow old with you. I love you Alan." Pamela by this time had cupped a hand on either side of Alan's face, making eye contact with Alan so he'd understand just how serious she was. "Alan, will you marry me?"

Alan was rendered speechless. All he could manage was a small nod before he found his lips pressed tightly against Pamela's. Hugging her tightly, Alan smiled. Things were starting to look up. Pamela pulled away and looked at Alan before she kissed him passionately again. She was happy. He was happy. They were engaged again, but to make it official…Pamela removed the ring and placed it in Alan's hand and made him put it back on for her.

As Alan and Pamela kissed again, they both blushed slightly when they heard clapping from behind them. Breaking apart they looked back to see John beaming at them. He was the one clapping. He approached the bed and gave both Alan and Pamela a hug, congratulating them on their engagement.

"I'm happy for you two." John gave a lopsided smile to Alan before turning to Pamela. "I hope you're ready to join this family, because I'll tell you what. There's a nut in every family, but in this one…I think there are five or more."

"I'm more than ready to join your family." Pamela kissed Alan again before hugging her soon to be brother in law John.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Pamela allowed Alan to cling to her waist as he struggled to stand up straight. His wounds were healing nicely and he'd been fitted for a prosthetic leg. His physiotherapist wanted Alan to try walking on his new limb in order to get used to the feel of it. When given the forearm crutches, Alan out rightly refused to use them. He'd settled for holding onto Pamela and Scott instead.

After several minutes, Alan let go of Scott and relied solely on Pamela to keep him upright. Scott and the rest of the family watched as Alan took the tentative steps on his new prosthetic leg. A tap on the shoulder made Scott turn to look at John who was holding a piece of paper. It'd been several months since the accident first occurred and Alan was making headway in his attempts to walk again.

"What's that?" Scott inquired as John handed him the paper.

"It's a letter from a bunch of well-wishers at Alan's college. They were sad he couldn't make it to the graduation ceremony, but one of his friends accepted Alan's diploma for him." John held up a padded envelope and tapped it with a finger. "I think he'll be happy to know that this same friend gave Alan's salutatorian speech for him also.

"Who was it?" Scott held out his hand to accept the padded envelope containing Alan's college diploma.

"A guy by the name of Justin. Apparently the two of them were roommates in the dorms at first until Alan got his own apartment." John grinned as he handed Scott the envelope with a look of pride. "Had it not been for that bad mark on the first exam, Alan would have been Valedictorian…but the makeup test and his getting a hundred on that made up for those lost points earning him the slot of salutatorian.

"I'll be darned…he did it." Scott removed the diploma from the already opened envelope and gazed at it. The name Alan Shepard Tracy was printed on the crisp parchment and snuggly tucked away in the folder. "I wish we could have watched him walk up and pick up his diploma though."

"Well, we got to watch him walk for his high school diploma, that's better than nothing right?" John and Scott both watched as Alan and Pamela turned to begin another lap. Alan's limp was barely noticeable, but Alan's change in wardrobe clued them in on his hidden injury. Alan still wasn't ready to show the world that he'd lost a limb, so he'd switched to wearing full length jeans instead of shorts like he'd grown up doing.

"Why are they doing so many laps? Alan's looking a bit tired." Gordon inquired as he watched Alan panting slightly from the exertion.

"He wants to build up his endurance. Al and Pam's wedding is coming up here shortly and Al is determined to dance with Pam." John pointed out. He grinned as he watched the couple continue Alan's therapy.

"Have they decided whether or not they are going to have Pam's dad give her away at the wedding or is it going to be one of us?" Scott inquired softly.

"Pam's talked to her dad and he is now more accepting of Alan. He's agreed to give Pamela away next month." Virgil replied with a wistful tone of voice. "I'm surprised by his sudden change of heart."

Pamela's father had shown up at the hospital not long after the accident, not believing when he'd heard Alan had been hurt. He'd seen Alan sitting up on the side of the bed, holding on to Pamela's shoulders as she helped a nurse change Alan's bandages. The young man's leg had been amputated from the knee down and Pamela's dad had finally seen a hint of the relationship Alan and Pamela had.

Alan and Pamela relied on each other and it was the support that Pamela gave Alan that made her father realize that they were right for each other. The man and Alan sat and talked for several hours and Alan learned why Pamela's father was so protective of her, but Alan also taught Pam's father just why he loved his daughter. Pamela had always been there for Alan, from the first time they met to the accident occurring and even now to this day.

"A real Romeo and Juliet story for you…only with a happy ending." Virgil grinned before continuing his reading of a medical journal.

"Yeah, I'll say." Scott replied and smiled as he watched Alan release Pamela and attempt to walk on his own. "He's doing pretty good."

"Oh yeah." The family all watched as Alan did one lap around the therapy room on his own before taking a seat to be checked by the therapist.


End file.
